UK Resilience
Last updated: 28 October 2008
Currently, local authorities are set targets by several Government Departments in respect of a range of their activities. Targets can include a requirement that a certain minimum standard is achieved, eg at least 20% of all pupils to obtain 5 or more GCSEs (known as ‘floor targets’) or they may be aspirational, eg. 65% of pupils to obtain 5 or more GCSEs in 2008, rising to 68% in 2009, etc.
Some incidents, such as the Carlisle floods and the explosion at the Buncefield oil depot, have shown that, due to resource pressures and other consequences, local authorities have been unable to meet certain performance targets.
Local authorities who administer Housing and Council Tax Benefit report quarterly against a number of performance measures. When an incident affects a local authority’s ability to meet certain targets, all circumstances will be taken into consideration when monitoring performance, carrying out inspections or making judgements on performance in the wider context of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment.
A new performance framework for local authorities and their partners in England is being introduced in 2008-09. The framework has been designed to:
Under the new framework, there will be a revised Local Area Agreement (LAA) process through which central Government and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) will agree and manage a limited number of performance targets for each local area.
The focus will be on the 150 single tier (unitary) authorities and county councils. District authorities will report on progress against their activities to their county council rather than direct to central Government or the relevant Government Office for the Region. Where appropriate, county councils will include this performance information in their annual performance report to their Government Office (eg. when there is an improvement target in a LAA that relate to a service for which a district authority has responsibility, eg housing).
Under the new framework, the number of improvement targets for each LAA will be limited to a maximum of 35 plus 18 statutory DCSF targets, creating more space for local flexibility. Targets will be negotiated between each LAA and their Government Office. LAAs will report to GOs annually on progress against their targets.
Guidance on Local Area Agreements is currently being drafted by Communities and Local Government and should be available in the Autumn.
Circumstances, which mean that local authorities are unable to meet certain targets, will be considered on a case by case basis.
In Wales, performance management arrangements do not currently include setting national targets that local authorities must attain.
The Scottish Government are in the process of developing performance monitoring arrangements with local authorities.
Due to the comparatively limited role of local authorities in Northern Ireland, there are fewer government-set targets to meet. The LAA process through LSPs is currently being assessed for use within Northern Ireland, though its implementation might be not be introduced until the Review of Public Administration is carried out.
National improvement targets will be negotiated as part of the Local Area Agreements between Government Offices and Local Strategic Partnerships. All such targets will have been agreed with the relevant Government Department beforehand.
No single Government department is in the lead. Local authorities deliver services that come within the remit of several government departments, eg. schools (DCSF), waste (Defra) and housing (CLG). The Government Office will be the local authority / local strategic partnership’s first port of call.
In Wales, local authorities are responsible for setting and reporting on their own performance targets, under the Wales Programme for Improvement.
The Scottish Government are currently in the process of developing performance monitoring arrangements with local authorities.
Local Authorities in Northern Ireland, having liaised with the Government Office responsible (i.e. Food Standards Agency), might look at reallocation of resources and the use of external agency staff to cover important areas of target driven work.
General enquiries: Cabinet Office, 22 Whitehall, London SW1A 2WH.
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